PSA World Tour players benefited to the tune of over $10m of prize money in the recently-concluded 2023/24 season.

The record total represented an 18.3% increase on the previous season.

Taking into account seasons unaffected by the pandemic, that is the biggest season-on-season increase since the PSA and the Womens Squash Association (WSA) merged in 2015.

It comes after the first full season following a major investment in the sport by Squash SM&E Holdings the Sports, Media and Entertainment Group led by businessman Mark Walter who acquired a stake in Squash Media & Marketing (SMM), a commercial entity created and managed by the PSA, in May 2023.

The 2023-24 season was the biggest ever in terms of sanctioned tournaments too, with 1,004 events being played across the PSA World Tour, PSA Challenger Tour and WSF & PSA Satellite Tour, representing a 22.0% increase on the season before.

Prize money on the womens tour equalled $4,838,013 while mens prize money totalled $5,748,584.

The top earning player on the mens tour was World No.1 Ali Farag, who won a record $352,696 of player compensation, marking the third time in succession he has been the highest mens earner. Womens World No.1 Nour El Sherbini took home $301,499 which is a record amount on the womens tour.

Average earnings for the mens and womens top 10 totalled $162,612 which is an increase of 7.2% compared to the previous season. 

600 mens events took place during the 2023-24 campaign, while 404 womens events were sanctioned. 74 countries staged a PSA event, with Namibia hosting a tournament for the first time.

The PSA Tour enjoyed growth across all tiers. 59 PSA World Tour events were held throughout the campaign (a 15.7% increase) alongside 230 PSA Challenger Tour events (28.5% increase) and 715 WSF & PSA Satellite Tour events (20.6% increase).

The 2023-24 season was an incredibly important and successful season for professional squash, said PSA Chief Executive Alex Gough.

We have witnessed record highs in total player prize compensation and sanctioned tournaments over the previous campaign. These figures are forecast to rise considerably over the coming seasons, in line with our strategic framework, as we aim to increase earning potential and playing opportunities for our athletes.

All of this comes against the backdrop of the historic news announced in October that squash will make its Olympic debut at LA28 in four years time. This is an exciting time for the sport, and we are committed to continuing this momentum and elevating the profile of squash on the global sporting stage.